HOLON, Israel, Jan. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Compugen Ltd.
(NASDAQ: CGEN), a clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy company and
leader in predictive target discovery, today announced the online
publication of preclinical data demonstrating the role of PVRIG as
a novel immune checkpoint and the potential of COM701, Compugen's
first-in-class inhibitory antibody targeting PVRIG, to serve as an
effective cancer immunotherapy. The findings were published in two
peer-reviewed papers in Cancer Immunology Research, an American
Association for Cancer Research publication. Both papers were
co-authored by Compugen's scientists in collaboration with
scientists from Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine, headed by Drew
Pardoll, M.D., Ph.D., Abeloff Professor of Oncology,
Medicine, Pathology, and Molecular Biology and Genetics at
Johns Hopkins University, School of
Medicine, and Director of the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for
Cancer Immunotherapy and Co-Director of the Cancer Immunology
Program at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center,
Johns Hopkins, and Chairman of
Compugen's Scientific Advisory Board.
"These are our first scientific publications discussing PVRIG, a
new immune checkpoint we discovered computationally, and its
inhibitory role within what we have termed the DNAM axis," stated
Anat Cohen-Dayag, Ph.D., President
and CEO of Compugen.
"The publication of these two peer-reviewed papers further
validates our understanding of the PVRIG pathway and its importance
in cancer immunotherapy. These preclinical data strongly support
the rationale underlying our clinical development plan for COM701
and reinforces our expectation that targeting the PVRIG pathway
will be foundational in expanding options for cancer patients
non-responsive to other immunotherapies. The distinct position we
hold in the immuno-oncology field as our Phase 1 study of COM701 in
patients with advanced solid tumors continues to progress and the
potential of COM701 as a treatment solution for cancer
immunotherapy are strengthened by the recent clinical collaboration
we announced with Bristol-Myers Squibb," Dr. Cohen-Dayag added.
The paper entitled "PVRIG and PVRL2 are induced in cancer and
inhibit CD8+ T cell function" demonstrates increased expression of
PVRIG and its ligand, PVRL2, in multiple tumor types, including in
tumors that are PD-L1 negative and therefore less likely to respond
to PD-1 pathway inhibition. In particular, PVRIG pathway expression
appears to be dominant in ovarian, endometrial, and breast cancers.
The study further demonstrates the parallel inhibitory roles of
PVRIG and TIGIT in the DNAM signaling axis, and that dual targeting
of the two results in synergistic activation of CD8+ effector T
cells, suggesting an opportunity for effective clinical
combinations of COM701 with anti-TIGIT antibodies. In addition, the
findings also show the combination potential of COM701 with PD-1
inhibitors, which served as a key component in designing our
ongoing Phase 1 study combination of COM701 with Opdivo®.
These results were further supported by mouse data published in
the paper entitled "Mouse PVRIG has CD8+ T-cell-specific
co-inhibitory functions," showing that mice lacking PVRIG have
increased anti-tumor T cell activity, and that tumor growth in
these mice is reduced relative to wild-type mice. This tumor growth
reduction is further enhanced in combination with TIGIT blockade,
demonstrating in vivo the parallel inhibitory roles of PVRIG and
TIGIT in the DNAM signaling axis. Consistent with the finding in
human systems, blocking both the PVRIG and the PD-1 pathways in
mice also reduces tumor growth, providing an additional line of
evidence for the therapeutic potential of the clinical combination
of COM701 with Opdivo®.
About Compugen
Compugen is a clinical-stage, therapeutic discovery and
development company utilizing its broadly applicable predictive
discovery infrastructure to identify novel drug targets and develop
first-in-class therapeutics in the field of cancer immunotherapy.
The Company's therapeutic pipeline consists of immuno-oncology
programs against novel drug targets it has discovered, including T
cell immune checkpoints and myeloid target programs. Compugen's
business model is to selectively enter into collaborations for its
novel targets and related drug product candidates at various stages
of research and development. The Company is headquartered in
Israel with R&D facilities in
both Israel and South San Francisco, CA. Compugen's ordinary
shares are listed on Nasdaq and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange under
the ticker symbol CGEN. For additional information, please visit
Compugen's corporate website at www.cgen.com.
Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of
terminology such as "will," "may," "expects," "anticipates,"
"believes," "potential," "plan," "goal," "estimate," "likely,"
"should," "confident," and "intends," and describe opinions about
possible future events. These forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual
results, performance or achievements of Compugen to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Among
these risks: Compugen's business model is substantially dependent
on entering into collaboration agreements with third parties and
Compugen may not be successful in generating adequate revenues or
commercializing aspects of its business model. Moreover, the
development and commercialization of therapeutic candidates involve
many inherent risks, including failure to progress to clinical
trials or, if they progress to or enter clinical trials, failure to
receive regulatory approval. These and other factors, including the
ability to finance the Company, are more fully discussed in the
"Risk Factors" section of Compugen's most recent Annual Report on
Form 20-F as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) as well as other documents that may be subsequently filed by
Compugen from time to time with the SEC. In addition, any
forward-looking statements represent Compugen's views only as of
the date of this release and should not be relied upon as
representing its views as of any subsequent date. Compugen does not
assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements
unless required by law.
Company contact:
Elana
Holzman
Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
Compugen Ltd.
Email: elanah@cgen.com
Tel: +972 (3) 765-8124
Investor Relations contact:
Burns McClellan, Inc.
Jill Steier
Email: jsteier@burnsmc.com
Tel: 212-213-0006
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SOURCE Compugen Ltd.